Tuesday, March 21, 2006
You're my friend if I owe you money. Or if you owe me money. Or something.
I'm beginning to think that one of the signs of community and friendship is reciprocal debt.
When Heather and I were roommates, we always had some sort of debt going on between us. We'd go out for dinner and I'd offer to pay since I owed her for the last movie we'd seen together. Or I wouldn't have cash and so she'd pay for dinner and the next time...you can see where this is going.
Yoori (another ex-roommate) and I did the same thing. We usually kept a running tally on the fridge of who owed what. There was one time when she paid me back with a sweater. She'd ordered it from J. Crew for $20, it was a bit small for her, and she owed me $20. So I got the sweater.
Yesterday, a neighbor girl tried to deliver and receive payment for some Girl Scout cookies Joyce had ordered. This was the poor girl's third attempt, so Julie and I paid her ("I've got $2.75, do you have 75 cents?"), and Joyce paid us back when she got home. I had borrowed a 37-cent stamp from Joyce earlier in the week, so that left the debt at...38 cents. Joyce paid me back with one 37-cent stamp and a penny. Awesome.
I go through the debt thing a bit with my coworkers, but on a much smaller scale. Anne often borrows change to make up the 60 cents needed for her Diet Coke caffeine fix.
I bring all of this up because we had a YAF ministry team meeting and dinner last night. At the end of the meeting, Lori handed money to Daryl to pay him back for the last dinner we had as a team. Then we all went out to eat. When the check arrived, Jenn handed me $7 to pay me back for a movie we'd seen together. My $7 from Jenn immediately went towards what I owed for dinner, and I turned to Jason and asked if I could borrow money to cover the rest. Debt, my friends. This is what it means to be in community.
When Heather and I were roommates, we always had some sort of debt going on between us. We'd go out for dinner and I'd offer to pay since I owed her for the last movie we'd seen together. Or I wouldn't have cash and so she'd pay for dinner and the next time...you can see where this is going.
Yoori (another ex-roommate) and I did the same thing. We usually kept a running tally on the fridge of who owed what. There was one time when she paid me back with a sweater. She'd ordered it from J. Crew for $20, it was a bit small for her, and she owed me $20. So I got the sweater.
Yesterday, a neighbor girl tried to deliver and receive payment for some Girl Scout cookies Joyce had ordered. This was the poor girl's third attempt, so Julie and I paid her ("I've got $2.75, do you have 75 cents?"), and Joyce paid us back when she got home. I had borrowed a 37-cent stamp from Joyce earlier in the week, so that left the debt at...38 cents. Joyce paid me back with one 37-cent stamp and a penny. Awesome.
I go through the debt thing a bit with my coworkers, but on a much smaller scale. Anne often borrows change to make up the 60 cents needed for her Diet Coke caffeine fix.
I bring all of this up because we had a YAF ministry team meeting and dinner last night. At the end of the meeting, Lori handed money to Daryl to pay him back for the last dinner we had as a team. Then we all went out to eat. When the check arrived, Jenn handed me $7 to pay me back for a movie we'd seen together. My $7 from Jenn immediately went towards what I owed for dinner, and I turned to Jason and asked if I could borrow money to cover the rest. Debt, my friends. This is what it means to be in community.
| posted by Barbara | 1:13 AM